October 06, 2010

The Newport

A new waltz or redowa variation pops up in a few of the manuals of the very late nineteenth century. Presumably named after the wealthy resort town, the Newport appears in slightly different versions in different manuals, but the common element appears to be a series of quick sliding steps.

Apparently the Newport was too new to be included in New York dancing master Allen Dodworth's Dancing and its relations to education and social life (New York, 1885). The earliest and clearest description I have found is in M. B. Gilbert's Round Dancing, published in Portland, Maine, in 1890. His version, included "by permission of Russ B. Walker," is essentially an ornamented version of the standard waltz of the late nineteenth century, with two rapid slides to the side rather than one in each bar for a "step-side-close-side-close" sequence rather than the usual "step, side, close." A half-turn is made on each bar, just as in the regular late nineteenth-century waltz, with a complete turn every two bars.

BeatStep1 Leap backward (along line of dance) with left foot &2 Step right foot to the side (along line of dance), close left to right&3 Step right foot to the side (along line of dance), close left to right1 Leap forward (along line of dance) with right foot&2 Step left foot to the side (along line of dance), close right to left&3 Step left foot to the side (along line of dance), close right to left

A technically identical description is found in an addendum to William DeGarmo's The Dance of Society, Fifth Edition, Revised and Enlarged (New York, 1892), where polka mazurka music is suggested.

The Newport may also be reversed in the same way as the regular waltz by leaping forward with the left foot and backward with the right or danced without turning, either the lady or the gentleman moving constantly forward along the line of dance while the other backs up. DeGarmo helpfully notes that:

Any person who knows the waltz will readily understand the analogy of the forward, backward, and reverse movements.

E.H. Kopp's compilation manual, The American Prompter and Guide to Etiquette (Cincinnati and New York, 1896) gives metronome markings for common dances and includes the Newport along with the waltz, polka, schottische, galop (two-step), redowa (Mazurka), and quadrille. Of the 3/4 time dances, the waltz is given a tempo of 62 bars (186 beats) per minute, the redowa is given 45-55 bars (135-165 beats) per minute, and the Newport is placed at the lower end of that scale, 45 bars (135 beats) per minute. Apparently the Newport was well-known enough that Kopp felt no need to describe it, but he referred to it in another dance, where he conveniently breaks down the step and shows it identical to Gilbert's version:

Slide back with left to fourth position (count 1). Draw right to second position, at the same thee draw left to right, third position, changing the weight to left foot (count 2). Repeat (count 3). (This step is the same as the Newport).

Along with the thorough technical manuals published by major dancing masters like Gilbert and DeGarmo, there were numerous other compilation manuals like Kopp's, often of dubious quality and originality, published in the late nineteenth century. Several of them mention the Newport, though none are particularly useful:

A rather confusing description is found in Prof. M. J. Koncen's quadrille call book and ball-room guide (St. Louis, c1883) which, while it retains the repeated slides of the Gilbert and DeGarmo version, is too problematic to execute. Koncen starts with the weight on the right foot and then has the dancer sliding on the same foot; obviously some weight changes or steps have been left out of his description.